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This Nov. 8, 2017 photo released by NBC shows Matt Lauer on the set of the "Today" show in New York. NBC News fired the longtime host for "inappropriate sexual behavior." Lauer's co-host Savannah Guthrie made the announcement at the top of Wednesday's "Today" show. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via AP)

Former “Today” show host Matt Lauer, fired for a sickening string of sexual misconduct and intimidation during his time at NBC, said Thursday that repairing the damage that he has caused is now his full-time job.

But the longtime host's reputation is likely irreparable given the swath of disturbing victim accounts that are beginning to emerge.

A statement from Matt Lauer: “There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions...” pic.twitter.com/f93rHXqKQD

Lauer was fired after an NBC employee came forward Monday to detail what NBC News chief Andrew Lack described as Lauer’s “inappropriate sexual behaviour” that began at the Sochi Olympics in 2014.

Since then, NBC said two other women have come forward with complaints, with one telling The New York Times that Lauer had sexually assaulted her in his office in 2001.

This Nov. 16, 2017 photo released by NBC shows Matt Lauer during a broadcast of the "Today," show in New York. NBC News fired the longtime host for "inappropriate sexual behavior." Lauer's co-host Savannah Guthrie made the announcement at the top of Wednesday's "Today" show. (Zach Pagano/NBC via AP)

An investigation by Variety revealed a pattern of alleged salacious behaviour, including three women who said they had been sexually harassed by Lauer.

According to the magazine, the deviant once gave a colleague a sex toy along with a disgusting and obscene note that detailed how he wanted to use it on her.

Another alleged victim said Lauer once lured her into his office before exposing himself. When the woman declined sex, Lauer reprimanded her, according to Variety.

Lauer’s wildly inappropriate actions also included asking female producers to disclose who they were sleeping with, according to the report. He’d make known which co-hosts he’d most like to have sex with.

(L to R) Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie and Dylan Dreyer sit at a table during a break on the set of NBC's Today Show, November 29, 2017 in New York City. It was announced on Wednesday morning that long time Today Show host Matt Lauer had been fired for sexual misconduct. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The New York Times spoke with an alleged victim who said Lauer sexually assaulted her in his locked office until she passed out and needed medical attention.

Lauer said that some of what has been said about him is untrue or mischaracterized.

However, he couldn't run from everything, including a creepy off-camera moment in 2006 that TMZ released Wednesday afternoon.

The gossip news site posted a video that appears to show Lauer telling TV personality Meredith Vieira to "keep bending over like that. It's a nice view."

For the second day in a row, he was replaced by Hoda Kotb on “Today,” giving the show an all-female lead anchor team.

NBC is faced with the task of suddenly replacing the man who has been the most visible figure in morning television news, the most lucrative part of the network news business.

CBS has the same task, since “CBS This Morning” host Charlie Rose was fired last week for after several women he worked with detailed sexual misconduct charges.

The list of prominent men felled by misconduct allegations has seemed to grow by the day, especially since a pattern of sexual assault by Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was revealed this fall. In the media alone, Lauer joins a list that also includes his former NBC News colleague Mark Halperin, the late Fox News chief Roger Ailes, Fox News prime-time host Bill O’Reilly and National Public Radio newsroom chief Michael Oreskes.

On Wednesday, former “Prairie Home Companion” host Garrison Keillor was cut loose by Minnesota Public Radio over an allegation of “inappropriate behaviour.”

In the wave of accusations sweeping through the media, Hollywood and politics, the stature and wealth that once served as protection have turned into flimsy shields. Lauer’s downfall was stunningly swift.

This Nov. 8, 2017 photo released by NBC shows Matt Lauer on the set of the "Today" show in New York. NBC News fired the longtime host for "inappropriate sexual behavior." Lauer's co-host Savannah Guthrie made the announcement at the top of Wednesday's "Today" show. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via AP)

Lack said it was the first complaint lodged against Lauer in his 20 years at NBC, but “we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.” After the new reports came forward, NBC emphasized it was the first time that its current news management had heard of the complaints.

Hours after the firing, the trade publication Variety posted what it said was a two-month investigation that included dozens of interviews with current and former staffers who asked to remain anonymous.

Among other things, Variety reported allegations that Lauer once gave a colleague a sex toy with an explicit note about how he wanted to use it on her; that he exposed himself to another female co-worker; that he would question female producers about their sex lives; and that he would talk about which co-hosts he would like to sleep with.

Messages to Lauer and his agent were not immediately returned, and NBC would not say whether he denied or admitted to any wrongdoing.

Lauer is married with three children. His statement on Thursday mentioned the damage he had left behind “at NBC and at home.”

Lauer’s “Where in the world is Matt Lauer?” segments were popular for years, and he regularly played a lead role at the Olympics and other major news events. He had been assigned as one of the hosts for the Christmas tree lighting ceremony from Rockefeller Center that NBC televised on Wednesday night.

For many years, “Today” was the unquestioned ratings leader, until it was eclipsed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” following the ugly 2012 firing of Lauer’s co-host Ann Curry. The show had stabilized in recent years with Lauer’s pairing with Guthrie.

Regarding Keillor, Minnesota Public Radio gave no details about his firing, but the 75-year-old Keillor said he put his hand on a woman’s back to console her and he inadvertently touched her bare skin through an opening in her shirt.

In an email to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Keillor said he apologized to the woman, she told him she forgave him and the two remained friends “right up until her lawyer called.”

Minnesota Public Radio said it will end distribution of the radio program “The Writer’s Almanac,” Keillor’s daily reading of a poem and telling of literary events, and end rebroadcasts of old “Prairie Home Companion” episodes.